23 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C.; 3 more deaths

THERE are 23 new cases of COVID-19 in British Columbia, for a total of 2,255 cases in the Province.

And there are three new COVID-19 related deaths: one in the Island Health region and two in Vancouver Coastal Health region, for a total of 124 deaths in B.C.

Every health region in British Columbia has patients with COVID-19: 852 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,046 are in the Fraser Health region, 124 are in the Island Health region, 179 are in the Interior Health region and 54 are in the Northern Health region.

In the last day, there were no new long-term care or assisted-living facility outbreaks. In total, 17 facilities and five acute-care units have active outbreaks, with outbreaks now declared over at 17 care facilities.

Public health teams are also providing support to a number of community outbreaks, actively contact tracing those who may be directly affected and their close contacts.

There are seven confirmed positive cases at Fraser Valley Specialty Poultry, 56 at Superior Poultry in Coquitlam and 35 at United Poultry in Vancouver.

There are also 134 inmates and staff confirmed positive at the Mission Institution federal correctional centre, as well as 16 positive cases of COVID-19 connected to the Kearl Lake plant in Alberta.

To date, 1,494 people who had tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered.

Of the total COVID-19 cases, 74 individuals are hospitalized, and 19 of those are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer, said on Wednesday: “We are not yet ready to make any changes to the measures we have in place – just this week, new outbreaks have emerged. Without continued vigilance, hot spots will quickly flare.

“We must chart a safe path forward together – one that will protect our province and give us the confidence that we can stay safe while increasing our social connections.

“As Premier John Horgan has said, finding the right balance in this next phase of COVID-19 requires all us to work together, to follow our playbook principles and remember the basics of keeping a safe physical distance from others, with fewer faces and open spaces.

“We must also continue to show kindness and compassion to those around us, as we remain 100% committed. It is in all of our hands. Let’s remember to wash them.”